


We built this love brick by brick

by Jiya



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/M, Marriage of Convenience, Political Marriage, Slow Burn, mentions of a past relationship with Talisa, oh so much angst, some slight Jonsa in later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:47:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21757762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jiya/pseuds/Jiya
Summary: When given the option between peace and war, Robb Stark chooses peace.Even when it comes at the price of marrying Myrcella Baratheon-Lannister. Robb will do his duty, but his heart will always belong to someone else.Set in the same universe as the my other WIP regrets, this one features Myrcella / Robb entirely.
Relationships: Jon Snow/Sansa Stark, Myrcella Baratheon/Robb Stark
Comments: 9
Kudos: 60





	We built this love brick by brick

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own GOT... If I did the ending would be much different than what we got! 
> 
> Hi people! So this is... Yeah I don't know what this is. I just wanted to write a new chapter for my WIP Regrets but I got sucked into the robbcella aspect of the story and now here we are. 
> 
> This is unbeta-ed so I own all the mistakes. Actually, if anyone is interested in beta'ing this, hit me up please. That would make my life easier. Message me on tumblr, I'm jonsaagenda.tumblr.com
> 
> English isn't my first language so please go easy on me.
> 
> And no you don't have to read Regrets to know what's going on in this one. This chapter is basically setting up the universe.

Waking up from a dreamless sleep, Myrcella yawned slowly taking in her surroundings. 

She still wasn't used to this, the married life, this unfamiliar place which was supposed to be her home... It was a house not a home she reminded herself. Her home was in King's Landing, full of warmth and sunshine where she would be woken up by Tommen's cats licking her face or gentle sunlight from the massive window which faced the sun.

The North was the opposite. It was cold, and dark and dull and quiet... and everything she hated. In her home she was the apple of her mother'ss eye, she was loved and cherished by her uncles and younger borther, she was the only Baratheon-Lannister daughter. Up here, she was an unwanted wife of a man who ignored her at best or probably hated her at worst. She wasn't sure of that to be honest, but his disinterest in her sure made her think that way.

Stretching her arms along the soft bedsheets under her cozy blanket, she tried looking for her mobile phone and found it under the pillow.

_Crap_

It was 7 freaking am? Already!?

Myrcella looked over at her window and _wow_ it was still dark outside. She would never get used to this, here the sun barely made an appearance and days ended as soon as they begun.

Usually this was the moment when her husband left for work, he was a workaholic afterall. He would leave for work when it was dark and he would return when it was dark again. He was Warden of the North and he took his job very seriously. North was one of the seven states of Westeros, it was by far the largest and least populated, which didn't surprise her considering it was the harshest place to live in. At least that was her experience so far. They had been married for seven months now and they still shared seperate beds.

She grew up in King's Landing, the capital of Westeros. Heavily populated and extremely busy, people usually moved there for better opportunities and to chase after their dreams. With a grandfather as the president after her dad who had been the president before him, Myrcella never had the normal childhood. She was used to lamelight, faking smiles and being under constant scrutiny. Maybe that's why North felt too lonely and haunting.

People who she grew up with didn't have a particularly friendly view of the North or Northerners, people in her circles called them savages, ruthelss and uncivil barbarians... And now her husband was a northerner. He wasn't any of the things people in King's Landing claimed.

He was...

He was just annoyingly proud, rigid and cold. He wasn't violent, he was just harsh in his words, in his actions around her. He wasn't a barbarian, he was cruel in his indifference to her.

Simple.

Sometimes she wondered if that was worse? Her mother would never have let her get married to Robb Stark but the Lannisters were losing their grip on Westeros. Her grandfather made the decision and just like that... her fate was sealed, just like her mother's had been before her. Cersei Lannister didn't give up so easily however, no, her mother fought hard against her grandfather and uncle's decision but when she couldn't get her out of it, she ended up controlling every aspect of how they were to get married. From deciding the venues to deciding what she and Robb were supposed to say in front of the press... Her mother was nothing if not particular. The Lannister-Baratheon princess married off to the Northern Prince? The PR team sold the fantasy well, but that is all it was.

A _fantasy_ , a _lie_ , a _joke._

Hair messy and eyes still red, she didn't want to leave the comfort of her bed, looking herself in the front camera of her phone she couldn't help but laugh as she recalled her mother's suggestion about seducing her husband. Who would find her attractive in this state?

Myrcella quickly brushed her teeth and got dressed. If she had a chance at having breakfast with Robb, she needed to do this quickly. Her mother's instructions had been very clear, spend time with him and find out everything about him and then use it to her advantage.

She was somewhat presentable now that she was out of her pj's. In a regular black jeans and red jumper, she headed towards the kitchen. If she was lucky, he would be having breakfast and maybe they would be able to talk. Checking her phone once more out of habit she realised it was twenty past seven, honestly she deserved a medal for getting ready in such a short time for that idiot!

Entering the kitchen however, she was met with Osha, their helper, who was washing what seemed to be a coffee mug and a few dishes.

"You just missed him." Osha said in her extremely thick northern accent.

_Oh_

Humiliation filled her, she refused to show it though opting for nonchalance, " Can't a girl wake up early in her own home to have breakfast by herself?"

She didn't even put that much effort really, she only wore her favourite twisted red jumper, which showed off her smooth skin a little bit. That was all. People could wear those sort of things at home, just to eat breakfast at 7.20 am in the morning.

It was normal.

Osha didn't say anything back, but something about the silence told her that the woman wasn't buying her excuse.

She wasn't feeling hungry, not really but now that she had lied about wanting breakfast and not her husband's company, she had to eat something. A few more beats passed in comfortable silence as she skimmed through cupboards for some cereal.

"He's not usually like this, he's very kind n considerate."

She really didn't want to talk to Osha about her husband... She was about to tell the woman to mind her own business when her mother's voice rang in her mind, this was an opportunity, this woman was willing to give her information about her husband, without even her asking. She should take the offer.

The thing is, she hated the idea of getting information about her husband and passing it onto her family, it felt wrong... But what had her husband done to warrant such _loyalty_ from her?

Myrcella's grandfather was the President of Westeros, he had been for a long time now, since her father passed away. There was no limit on getting re-elected so they had been in power for as long as she recalled.

She knew very well, or at least she was told this by her mother before her betrothal was announced that the North was slipping out of Lannisters' hands. They needed good ties with them and a good PR in general before other states also started getting ideas about independence, they needed to calm the uprising especially in the North and they needed a better relationship with the Starks, and an insider which would alert them of Starks' next moves.

Robb had only agreed to this marriage if Tywin would sign a bill Ned Stark had wanted to pass before his tragic accident. Her grandfather sold their marriage as a sign of peace between North and South, who at the time had been on the brink of a war. Robb chose peace and compromise, she was part of the deal. Things have calmed down since then, but she reckons it's because her grandfather allowed the North to have more autonomy, rather than just because of their marriage.

"What is he usually like?", she found herself asking before she could stop, she told herself she was digging for information so she could manipulate and use it later, but a tiny part of her, the one she kept hidden from the world was just curious about her husband.

Osha's face lit up in a genuine sime, it suited the wild woman it softened her otherwise rough features. People in South would never hire someone like her let alone treat them as part of the family, it's because there was a certain reputation that came with being a _Wilding-no Freefolk, that's what they like to call themselves,_ she corrected. In the time she has spent around Osha though, she realised just how wrong those misconceptions are about them. A part of her respects the Starks immensely for how they treated people. 

Myrcella was pulled out of her thoughts when Osha started talking. 

"First time I met him, I was sealin' from the man. He had just started runnin' a campaign against Boltons n he came beyond the wall, to talk to our people n listen to our complaints. His security guard captured me before I could cut his pocket. Threw me on the ground real hard, cut my lip right here." She paused to point to a very faint scar on her bottom lip.

"Sansa was with Robb, she told the guard to stop, and Robb helped me get up. Asked if I was okay. That's when I learned that the fancy dressed man was runnin' for Warden, son of Eddard Stark no less." Her eyes lit up in excitement as she recalled the rest, "it was unbelievable you know, for so long the Northerners have treated us with nothin' but disdain, and we treated them the same but here was a man with his sister willing to fight for us, listening to our complains, actually bothered to come and see us..." Her eyes welled up a little, but tear didn't drop, she shook her head the wetness was gone.

Something told Myrcella that the woman was not fond of being seen crying.

"He didn't press no charges after I told him I couldn't get no job and was hungry, he asked if I could look after small boys and teach them how to ride a horse. Said I could! He offered me a job on the spot and I have not left the Starks since."

Myrcella was moved by the tale, she found herself smiling along with the woman. She remembered how much Rickon, the little wolf enjoys Osha's company.

"So it would be fair to assume that you voted for Robb?" Myrcella teased lightly.

"Course I did!" She beamed proudly, "first time I ever voted!"

Myrcella remembered reading it in papers that Robb had gotten the victory because a historic number of Freefolkers registered to vote for the first time... but she knew all about that, she had googled him so much after their betrothal was announced, partially because she had to, as her family were selling this marriage as a "love story" so learning as much about him as possible made sense but partially because she was curious about the man who would be her husband.

"Was it easy for him to win the support of people beyond the wall?" she asked because she wanted to know more, she wanted to know things that media didn't know.

Osha chuckled at that, "Not at all" she replied as she cleaned her hands with her apron and came to stand beside her pointing her in the right direction of where the cereal was.

She continued with her tale then, "Freefolkers are hard to win over. Robb was dressed fancy and spoke differently, he was Ned Stark's son, so course nobody trusted him. But then Jon Snow vouched for him. He rallied for him beyond the wall and people trust him there, he's fought with our people against Army of the dead. He knows what hell we have lived through with those terrorists roaming around our homeland. People cast the vote because of Jon."

Myrcella knew about the war against the terrorist organisation, she was ashamed of her grandfather, he had refused to pledge more money and people to the North to help them against the threat at the time. Northerners really deserved all the credit for defeating them all on their own. Up here, the war is known as "The long Night", night because so many northern families and Freefolks lost their young soldiers in it. No wonder the North wanted freedom from the rest of Westeros, she couldn't help but sympathise with their justified anger.

"I am so sorry Osha, I know the South is at fault for not heeding to the call, not sending enough help, it's hypocrite how we now celebrate 'Long Night Rememberence Day' when we didn't bother sending help when it was needed the most." It was true and seeing her grandfather give a speech on rememberance day made her very angry, even more so because the media heavily mentioned the few southern soldiers that lost their lives but even to this day refuses to tell enough stories of Northern soldiers and freefolk who fought in the war. 

"That's not all the South is guilty of miss." Osha replied passionately. The use of miss didn't go unnoticed by Myrcella. This was clearly something Osha felt strongly about.

"Your grandfather also supported Ramsay Bolton, even when he went out of his way to scare the people about us, saying we were the real terrorists and that the North needed the wall back, to save them from freefolkers. We, who suffered the most because of those monsters."

The thing is, her anger was justified.

Myrcella winced at the reminder, she remembered very clearly how her grandfather threw money at Bolton's campaign and endorsed him, however, Tywin Lannister's endorsement did more harm than good. The North hated her family, still does to some extent. She remember how Mr. Baelish controlled the media coverage, hateful divisive rhetoric about rebuilding the Northern Wall to prevent from Wilding invasion was everywhere, yet it couldn't sway enough Northerners, they came in droves to elect Robb.

It wasn't until the very last moment that her grandfather changed tactics, once he realised that Robb Stark was projected to win, that's when he sealed her fate in exchange for the North.

Myrcella was out of words, she loved her family, she really did but she couldn't defend their actions sometimes.... _Most_ times.

Osha looked at her with a small smile then, "I don't hate you." She said in a reassuring sort of way

Myrcella found a slight lump in her throat, "I wouldn't hold it against you if you did though."

Osha looked at her warmly instead, "I didn't like you at first. When the news broke that Robb Stark will marry you, many lost faith, we thought he had made a deal with your family after all... But then he got the bill passed. He's getting social security programs set up for people as we speak, he didn't sell us out." She said proudly.

Myrcella smiled at the woman's visible joy. No, he did not. In fact, asking for more autonomy for the North was among one of the main demands he made to stay within Westeros. He put his people first, she may not love her distant, gruff northern husband but she admired him. He was someone she could proudly tell others was _her husband_.

"He's an honest man and you're an honest woman. He'll see that soon enough, you two will make each other very happy." The woman said it with such surity, such conviction that it baffled Myrcella.

Make each other happy? She could count the handful of times they've shared a meal together.

Suddenly she felt her chest constrict and she hated how broken her voice sounded to her own ears, "He doesn't even look at me."

She instantly regretted saying it out loud. What was she doing? Showing vulnerablity to a stranger. Her mother would be disappointed, she would call this showing weakness.

"He's a fucking idiot." The woman swore and the change in her energy amused Myrcella a lot, "All men are thick as bricks when it comes to the matter of the heart, I'll give him a piece of my mind if you want it."

A chuckle escaped her. "No Osha dear, thank you for the offer but I'll figure it out. I just...", she trails off, not voicing out loud what she really wants to say. _I am trying to do my part? But he doesn't even want to try to make it work it seems._

"I guess I just miss my home and feel lonely, that's all", she says instead. It isn't a lie, just a half truth.

"I think we should go out today, you spend way too much time holed in here, alone." Oshe offered.

"I would love that."

The woman graced her with a cheery smile in response and then gave her a once over disapproving her look, "Yeah luv, you better change that jumper, it'll do nothing to keep ya warm. Wear something thick and comfortable. You're in the North now."

"Yes ma'am."

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so first things first, I am not a fan of Myrcella just hating her family completely and not having any contact with them. Like, I know Lannisters are dicks but I want to bring a little complexity to her relationship with them. I hope it shows and I can achieve it. 
> 
> Her relationship with cersei is going to be somewhat central, this one is my interpretation of cersei so some of you might not agree with it. For the sake of this fic just go along with it. 
> 
> One of my biggest challenges is writing what I imagine. I have a plan for this fic but my biggest fear is I won't be able to do justice to my ideas. So yeah, let's hope I won't screw it up. 
> 
> The good news is I actually sat my ass down and made a proper plan on where I want this to go. So yeah hopefully I won't get stuck along the way, bad news is that I have exams so I don't know how frequently I shall be updating. 
> 
> Lastly, next chapter is Robb's pov, I have some of it written and to be quite honest I am not entirely happy with it so I can't promise when I will post it. If Robb being this distant seems ooc to some people, guys there is a reason. 
> 
> That is all what I am gonna say.
> 
> Leave comments and I shall forever be grateful.


End file.
